The Witch's Curse
by AmenziliaPoppy
Summary: [Death the KidxOC (Kelly)] When Death finds himself face to face with an ornery witch that has personally met his father, he discovers he's been put under a curse that isn't quite textbook. Whatever the witch's intentions, his life is about to take a shocking turn and the biggest surprise? He thinks he likes it.
1. Section 1: Watch Your Head

This is a fanfiction I'm writing on request. Hope you all enjoy! This will be a three installment fanfiction when done, so for a multi-chapter fanfic it won't be terribly long. But then again I doubt usually do multi-chapter fanfics. I just couldn't finish this one in one section. Let's just say I got caught up in the awesomeness that is epic fight scenes!

**The Witch's Curse **

**Section 1: Watch Your Head**

Death the Kid hunched over the restaurant table, resting his head in his hands and letting his eyes slip halfway closed. "I don't know why father would send me on an assignment like this." He said, attempting to stifle a yawn but failing miserably. "I know he'd never give me false information and that she'll come eventually, but this steak out is getting old. I'm stuffed." He pushed away a now empty plate of spaghetti and wiped his face with a napkin, a bored expression in his swirling golden eyes.

Liz patted him on the back, smiling. "Oh come on, Kid. I'm sure this witch that Lord Death sent us after will show up soon. It isn't that bad."

"Yeah!" Said Patti. "I've never been on a mission this tasty before!"

"But I'm a Reaper, Patti." Kid shook his head. "I'll never surpass my father if all I can do is sit in restaurants and wait for my enemies to come to me! I don't even like Italian…"

Death was on a private assignment from his father—as most of his assignments were, being that he was so above all the other students—to kill a certain witch. This witch was known for going on large soul capturing sprees in the outskirts of DeathCity and was causing a huge problem for Lord Death. His intelligence led him to believe that this was her next destination, a meeting with a human she had been having contact with lately. A violent person who was probably doomed to become a kishin egg. The witch meant to become partners with this human, or at least that was what Lord Death assumed. That is, if he showed promise as a kishin. Otherwise she would probably just take his soul.

The one thing Kid didn't get was why his father had been so insistant that it was Kid that was sent on this mission. It was as though he had a personal vendetta against this witch.

Either way, it was Kid's job to take her down. As for the human, if he did become a kishin, that just meant Kid would be back later for him as well.

But he was beginning to think she'd caught onto him and wasn't going to show up when the sound of crashing plates and a scream ripped through the air. "What was…" Kid's eyes went wide. Now that he was paying attention, he wondered why he hadn't felt it sooner. A dark aura in the center of the restaurant. It radiated evil. No doubt about it. "It's her!" He stood up and leapt out of his seat.

"Whoa!" Said Patti.

Patti grinned and leant out of her seat. "That was fast!"

Death ran down the hall in the direction of the soul in question. He skidded to a stop in another room full of tables to see a man lying on the ground next to an overturned chair. Above him stood the woman who was undoubtedly the witch Kid was after. The other customers and employees all stood back in shock and fear. Nobody had the courage to face the witch. Probably because none of the people there even understood what she was. Kid grinned. Well wasn't that his job?

On the second level of the restaurant, which was visible from the first from inner balconies, two customers stood. They had been having an average meal, celebrating their acceptance as students at the DWMA with some fancy food. But the presence of the witch had ruined their meal, just as much as it had ruined everyone else's. The one named Kelly turned to her friend, Kayla, a look of surprise on her face. "Did you hear that?"

Kayla's eyes widened. "It's coming from below. Look!" She pulled Kelly to the the balcony and looked down, pointing to the scene going on beneath them.

The witch kneeled down and wrapped a gloved hand around the man's neck. She laughed wickedly. "You useless human waste! If you're too useless to help me, I guess I'll just throw you away like the trash you are."

The man coughed within the witch's choke hold. "P-Please…have mercy…"

"Can't have you tattling on me to Lord Death, can I? He's just as naïve as you. Neither of you know what progress is!"

Kid gritted his teeth, his eyes narrowing. That was it. It was time to get into this fight. He wasn't going to sit back and listen to some witch bad talk his father like that. "Liz! Patti! Weapon form!" He yelled. Several of the customers, the ones whose eyes weren't on the witch and her victim, gasped when they saw the two average looking girls leap into the air only to transform into purple light and fall into Kid's hands, their glow fading away and turning into two silver guns.

The witch leant down, a green haze forming around her hand and creeping towards the man. Her eyes went wide with anticipation. "Prepare to meet your doom!" She laughed. A couple of shrieks arose through the crowd.

"What's going on!" Kayla gasped.

"It's a witch! I can't believe it! I thought I'd at least get to the DWMA before I actually saw one in person, but…" Kelly wanted to lean forward to see better, but was afraid. She'd forgotten how high up they appeared so close to the balcony's edge.

"What do we do?" Asked Kayla.

"I…" She hesitated. "Are those…weapons?"

Down on the first floor, a pair of bullets made of purple light sped between the shrinking space between the witch and the man, causing the whole crowd to go silent. The witch gasped. She looked to her left to see Kid turning his chin up, a dark smile on his face. He struck a pose, sticking his right foot forward with his guns in front of him. The barrels smoked. "Yarla Veningham, you are a witch that has strayed from the path of justice and therefore your soul is filled with nothing but the disease of pure evil. Therefore, I have come to reap your soul! Accept your fate! Let go of the man and consent to defeat at my hands!"

The witch dropped the man to the floor. Her eyes still wide with shock, she stood up and left him in a gasping heap on the ground. "I know your kind, meister…" She tilted her head to the side, and then gasped out, as if in pain. Her eyes filled with a kind of recognition that made Kid cock his eyebrows in confusion. "No…" She whispered evilly. "…Reaper."

He glared, evening his stride as he sent a dozen bullets in her direction. "How did you know I was a Reaper? Sensing my soul, are you? I'll teach you to curse my father's name with such witchcraft!"

She grinned and disappeared into a cloud of green smoke with a snap of her fingers. The bullets went through the all. Kid hesitated. Where had that witch gone? He hated their foul tricks, but he wasn't about to let himself be defeated. Not with his father's good name on the line.

"I'm still here, Reaper." He felt his heart jump as a shadow went over him. A hand crept onto his shoulder. Its probing fingers felt the collar of his jacket curiously. "So this is the son of Lord Death? A little younger than I thought he'd be. I guess Shinigami-sama didn't have time to teach you any of his trick's yet." She shook her head. "What a shame?"

He gulped, closing his eyes in a tight frown. "Don't think you can harvest kishin eggs on my watch." He turned around, round kicking the witch in the head and knocking her violently to the ground. "And don't think you can insult my father to my face without suffering eternal punishment! I'll reap your soul and put you in Hell, Veningham!"

She gasped out in pain, feeling her face where he'd kicked her. The witch moved to get up, but Kid was over her in seconds. He'd always been light and fast on his feet. This came to good use when he was called to battle against enemies with magic on their side. "Yes, I am the son of Lord Death, Death the Kid." He stuck one into the witch's side. "In the name of my father, I will defeat you."

"I knew your father." Said the witch, smiling a twisted smile. She didn't seem to be all that afraid of the gun digging into her ribcage. Or at least she wasn't showing it. Instead she locked eyes with Kid. "He didn't like me very much, but then that's expected from a man who prefers to destroy true power when he sees it!"

She swept her hand in front of Kid's face, snapping her fingers. A bloodcurdling scream left Kid's mouth as he felt the energy seeping out of him. He fell to his knees, suddenly struggling to breathe. What was this terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach?

"Kid! We can't hold on!" Liz yelled. "I don't know what's happening!"

What? What was she talking about? Couldn't hold on? Onto what? And why was his thought process so slow all of a sudden? Kid couldn't think. He shook his head, trying to keep his eyes open as a feeling of weakness made his body numb.

His guns were surrounded by purple light and then he realized what Liz and Patti couldn't hold onto. They were going to slip out of weapon form. It was his soul wavelength that the witch was altering. She was making it so that Death and his pistols couldn't resonate. She was depriving him of his weapons.

_I have to stop this_, thought Kid. _I have to hold on. If I can just stay awake, taking her soul will be easy._

"Liz! Patti! You've got to keep me awake!"

"Right!" The twins said in unison.

Kid felt a surge of energy go through him, coming from the wavelengths of his pistols. He forced himself to get to his wobbly legs. "You can't take me down that easily, witch! Don't underestimate the power of a Grim Reaper!" He gulped, losing his balance temporarily and falling forward. He caught himself at the last moment, his face now inches from hers as she, too, got to her feet.

"Kid! Are you okay?" Asked Patti.

Death responded by sending a bullet into each of the witch's shoulders and causing her to stagger back and hit the restaurant wall. Liz and Patti took that as a yes.

He walked over the rubble that had been the result of his fight towards the witch. He used his pistols to hold her against the wall. She was suffering from major blood loss and lifted her hands in an attempt to save herself but the green light that was emitted from her fingers flickered, showing how weak she really was. "What a pathetic excuse for a witch." He said, looking her up and down. "You're all words and yet you use power as a reason for going against Lord Death? You disgust me." He put his face next to hers, his golden eyes meeting her black ones. He eyed the parting of her hair, the way her face didn't seem to align right, her terrible fashion sense. "You aren't even symmetrical."

She coughed. He felt her hands on him, trying to push him back. He didn't budge. He would keep resonating with his weapons until this fight was over. He wouldn't submit to her magic. He was a Reaper, not to be entangled in her magic.

He finally understood why it had been so important to his father that he go after this witch. She obviously had no respect for him or his name, and he wanted to guarantee that her soul was reaped by a meister capable of respecting the power of the Shinigami. But Kid hesitated at what she said next.

"How kind of Lord Death to send his own son to kill me. If he was as strong as he says he is, he'd have reaped my soul himself. It's an insult he even sent you to fight me, Death the Kid." She said tauntingly. "I don't usually tell fortunes for free. But I'll make an acception for the esteemed Reaper's son. And this isn't so much of a fortune as a curse. A parting gift from me to you on behalf of Lord Death." Her eyes were wide, a green glow surrounding her. Kid didn't understand what was going on. Was her magic telling her something?

Her eyes closed. She was dying. And yet she continued to speak. She wasn't done yet. "You're destined to meet your kindred spirit, Reaper, but it may be a bumpy ride, so watch your head."

Kid cocked his eyebrows at the witch. What was she saying? What did her words have to do with anything? He didn't get it. "What are you trying to tell me, witch?" Kid's eyes narrowed, watching as her chest continued to rise and fall. She wasn't dead yet. "Death cannon…" He said, gritting his teeth.

His twin pistols transformed into dark silver cannons adorned by the characteristic skulls that all his weapon's forms bore. He lifted them, noticing how heavy they seemed to his weakened body, and held them on either side of the witch's neck. "Give me your soul!"

"Firing!" Said Liz and Patti.

The witch died in an explosive mix of purple and green light and fell to the ground. She disappeared after a second, a small glowing green soul floating above where her corpse would have lain. Kid fell forward and hit the wall, leaning on it for support. He breathed out with relief. It was over.

He felt Patti pulling him back. "Yay! Kid! We did it!" She said, laughing and clapping her hands. He smiled weakly.

"That's good, Patti."

Liz walked over. "I ate her soul. Now Patti and I are even again. I was behind one."

"Oh. I see. Wonderful." Said Kid. He put a hand to his chest. "That was a little tougher than I thought it would be. But nothing I couldn't handle. We should report back to my father." He looked around the room. Everyone was staring at them. A lot of customers had left running. Employees were whispering. A few people had burst into tears. The man who had been there to meet the witch was now gone. No doubt afraid of what Kid would do to him if he found him.

"My father will take care of the people here." He said, sighing.

In the balcony above, Kelly had forgotten her fear in the heat of the fight. She couldn't believe her eyes. She'd never seen something so exciting in her entire life. Her heart was pumping so hard she thought it would crack a rib. This was why she'd consented to become a meister. She wanted a taste of this excitement. Even if it scared her a little.

"Wow…" Said Kayla, her hands tight around the rail in a white knuckle grip. She glanced at Kelly for a second, worried at her friend's shocked silence. "Kelly, what are you…" Her eyes went wide. "Don't lean over the rail so far! You'll fa—" She saw Kelly's feet leave the ground, and tried to pull her back but was too late. Kelly realized that she was losing her balance at the last minute and screamed as she fell over the edge of the balcony.

"Kelly!" Kayla called.

Kelly's eyes left Kid as she fell head first toward the ground. She felt fear shoot through her. She thought for a second that she would die. Falling from such a height, falling the right way would break several bones, and falling the wrong way would kill her. "Heeeeeeeeeelp!" She yelled, putting her hands over her head.

Death looked up to see a figure with blonde hair hurtling to the floor in his direction. "What the…" He would have moved out of the way but he was still in a daze after that fight. That and he was thinking about what the witch had told him. _"You're destined to meet your kindred spirit, Reaper, but it may be a bumpy ride, so watch your head."_ What could that mean?

"Kelly!" Kayla shrieked, putting a hand over the side of the rail.

"Kid!" Liz and Patti warned as they saw something about to fall on the weakened Reaper.

"Oof!" Kid's vision went black as something fell into his arms. In a clumsy attempt at a catch, he collapsed under the girl with a loud groan. Kelly felt skin contact and wrapped her arms around the first thing she touched, anything to keep herself from falling. _This is what I get for sitting on the second floor_, she thought. _I hate, hate, hate heights!_ Her arms went around Kid's waist, small tears forming in her eyes. "Help me…I don't want to fall…" She whispered, only just realizing she was no longer going down.

Kid looked up in shock. He struggled to breathe, the wind knocked out his lungs by the fall. "E-Eh…" Liz, Patti and Kayla all went quiet.

Kid sat up, putting his hands on the girl's arms, realizing the strength of her grip on his waist. It was…a girl, he realized. He looked up. She'd fallen from the balcony above? How had that happened? "M-Miss?" He asked, trying to see her face though it was buried in her shoulder. "Miss, are you alright?" He didn't think anything was broken. Not on him, at least. And she didn't seem to be in pain. Just very, very scared. "Everything's okay now…" He said, remembering hearing her shriek for help and realizing how terrified she probably was. "You're alright…" He gasped for air. "You can let go now."

Kelly opened her eyes slowly, the tears wiped away by the fact that she'd put her face in Kid's black suit jacket. She recognized the voice. She gasped, letting go and falling back in surprise. She sat back, putting her hands onto the floor. Her mouth was wide, not knowing what to do or say. She saw Kid for the first time up close.

His black and white hair hung in his face. He was a little scratched up from the fight, his eyes half closed with exhaustion. "You're…D-D…" She whispered. He was the Reaper's son?

"My name is Death the Kid." He nodded feeling the need to introduce himself. "And you're…?"

"Kelly…My name is Kelly…" And then she felt the world go black.

* * *

Opinions? Commentary? Please tell me what you think! I love feedback! And thanks so much for reading~


	2. Section 2: Pay Him Back

**Section 2**

**Pay Him Back**

Death was shocked when he saw the girl, Kelly, get a lost look in her eyes and then fall to the ground. He gasped, scrambling to keep her from hitting the floor. "H-Hey, are you alright?" He asked, holding her up with a hand that went over her back. He gave her a light shake but it did nothing. She was out cold. He sighed. This had been quite the night. He was too tired to deal with the threat of young girls raining down from above. Especially after a fight like that. He sat, running a hand through his striped black and white hair, Liz and Patti hovering over him like mother hens. Right then, another girl came and pushed herself abruptly between Kid and Kelly.

"Kelly!" She put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Hey…" She turned to stare at Kid. "What did you do to her?"

Death's eyes narrowed. "I didn't do anything. May I ask why your friend here landed on me?"  
"She…" Kayla looked away from Death shyly. She couldn't believe she was talking to the son of Death himself. "She's never seen a meister fight before."  
His eyes widened. "You're…" He suddenly remembered something his father had told him about two new girls at the DWMA. Young girls.

Kayla nodded. "We're going to be students at DeathWeaponMeisterAcademy. Your…" She looked a little pale. "your father's school."  
"No need to be afraid." Said Death, a little offended at the look on Kayla's face. One of respect and fear.

At that moment, Liz and Patti stepped in and tugged Kayla away from Death. "Get your hands…" Liz started.

"off our meister, 'kay?" Finished Patti with a grin.

Kayla stared, not knowing what to do. When she turned around, Kid was gone. He'd gotten up and was talking to a few frightened employees across the room.

"My father, Lord Death, will take care of everything your manager may be concerned about." He said, putting a hand in the face of the shaking waiter. "Rest assured, all damages the property suffered during the fight will be paid for in check by the DWMA, and any refunds to customers will be covered in an interest free loan as necessary."

He walked back over to Kayla and the Thompson sisters. "You're Kayla, aren't you?" He asked with half closed eyes.

"Y-Yes…" She said, feeling awkward in the middle of the half-destroyed restaurant.

"I'm sure you're worried for your friend. Tell me again how she fell?"

"Well…I guess she just got startled by your fight, and, well, she's always had a fear of heights. The rail caught her off guard."

"I see…" He looked down at Kelly with swirling golden eyes. "Well then." Much to Kayla's surprise, Death knelt down and picked up the girl in his arms. He turned and started walking out of the restaurant, Liz and Patti following without question.

Kayla ran after him. "Hey! Where are you taking her?" She was still a little afraid.

"Back to my home, of course." He faced her. "I assume you two already have a dorm at the DWMA. You should go back there to rest. It's getting late and classes start at 7 tomorrow. Kelly here must have bumped her head pretty hard. She'll be fine, but when she wakes up it might be better if she had the assistance of the nurses I have at my disposal back home rather than the school's less efficient office staff." He looked at her, a logical expression on his face.

"But…" How could she just let this guy carry her friend off? However, he was the son of Lord Death. It wasn't like she wasn't in good hands.

"Don't worry!" Patti said, putting a hand on Kayla's shoulder. "Kid will take great care of your friend. I promise!"

Kayla watched in shocked silence as Death the Kid left her and a restaurant full of frightened customers with two shape shifting gun girls and a sleeping meister in his arms.

"What a weird night…"

Kelly woke up in a large room with no windows and white walls decorated by paintings that looked more like ink spots than abstract art.

At first, she was mesmerized by the perfection of the room. She'd never seen a room so…odd, and yet so pleasing to her eyes.  
However, she turned and saw Death, sitting in a chair by her bed, his head nodding forward and his eyes closed with sleep. The sight surprised her enough to cause her to jump and nearly fall out of the bed with a yelp.

Death blinked and looked up drowsily. "Oh…good. You're awake. I was beginning to worry."

Kelly shrank back under the covers of the bed, and then looked down in horror. "W-Where am I?"

"DeathMansion."

"DeathMansion?!"

"You're loud." He rubbed his head and smiled. "How are you feeling, miss Kelly?"

"I don't understand. I was with Kayla…in a restaurant." She said, regaining her balance and staring at Kid with a look of sleepy confusion.

"And then you fell from the balcony, on top of me, I might add. It appears you have a slight phobia of heights. You should probably fix that, or eat on the ground floor next time."

Memories slowly filled in the gaps. Kelly remembered now. She remembered falling into Kid's arms…feeling his jacket as she wrapped her arms around him. Her eyes went wide. She vaguely recalled being half awake when a certain stripe-haired reaper picked her up and carried her all the way to the mansion. But, unconscious or not…

"Why…why did you bring me here and not to my dorm at the DWMA?" she asked, assuming Kayla had filled him in. Where was Kayla, anyways?

He yawned, pushing away sleep. "It was my fight that startled you into falling, wasn't it? The least I could do is nurse you back to health." Death sighed.

Kayla stared at him. She didn't know what to think of the boy. All she could think was how their arms were locked for that briefest panel of time, and she was crying into his shoulder, while he held her to his chest. Out of what might have been seen as embarrassment, she turned her eyes away from Death and looked instead around the room. Her eyes went wide as she took in the true extent of its architecture. "I-Is this you're room…?" She asked, almost speechless.

"Yes. Why?"

"It's…beautiful. I've never seen a room more symmetrical than this one."  
Death nearly choked at her words. He coughed, staring at her in shock. "Y-You think my room is beautiful?"  
She blinked and looked at him. "Yes. It's…very symmetrical. I like it a lot."

A huge blush went over Death's face. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Nobody had ever complimented something of his like this. It made his heart beat a little faster. "Y-You…like symmetry?"

Kelly smiled widely. "I love it."

He started choking again.

Her eyes went wide. "Hey! Are you okay? Was it something I said?"  
"No…no, I mean…I'm fine." He hit his chest, regaining his breath. He looked up slowly and smiled, his cheeks still red. "You flatter me. I've never met someone as fond of symmetry as I am." Death grinned. "Ahh, symmetry."

Kelly laughed softly. "It's a bit of an obsession I've had since I was little."

"Shh, don't ever call it an obsession." He said, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her to him as though this was some secret that nobody else could overhear. "It's a gift. The gift we have been born with, to know the value of symmetry in this world and to be given the gift of using that knowledge to keep the world in balance." His eyes stared into hers, a shade of radiant gold.

He leant forward and put a hand to her cheek. "You know, you have beautiful hair. Parted right down the middle. I hope that falling to the floor like that didn't give you an unseemly scratch somewhere to ruin that pretty face."

Kelly blushed and pulled back, then her eyes got a look of surprise, actually taking Kid's words seriously. "D-Do you think it did?" She felt her head anxiously.

Kid put his hands on her hair, feeling for bumps or cuts calmly. Her eyes went wide. It felt so unnatural to have someone else's hands on her head. But she couldn't say it necessarily felt bad. "No." He said eventually. "You're going to be fine."

"I-I think you cushioned the fall for me." Kelly said, blushing nervously. "Thank you for that, by the way."

"It was no problem. You're a student at the DWMA. It's my job to keep you safe. Even if I didn't know it at the time, I'm glad I was able to help out a new student. Injured meisters aren't very useful ones."

"Um…" She tried to remember the name he'd given her, but couldn't remember it exactly. "What should I call you again?"

"My formal name is Death the Kid, named for my father, Lord Death. But if you wish, you may call me Death, or simply Kid, as my classmates do."

"Death…" Kelly smiled, taking him all in. He looked so formal in his black suit and skull pin. Yes, this was the son of Lord Death, the Shinigami Death the Kid.

She swung over the side of the bed, sticking her legs off the edge and onto the floor. "So you attend classes at the DWMA? But why? You're a Shinigami, aren't you? Shouldn't you be training with your dad?"

Death flinched, his eyes going a little round. He smiled, shrugging off the surprise her question had undoubtedly caused him, but she noticed his change in expression anyways, and the way he pulled his hands back from the bed with a bit of disdain. "What? Did I say something wrong?" She asked, cocking her head at him.

"Of course not." He said with certainty. "I decided to become a student at my father's school of my own free will, not because I had to. I am currently training two future death scythes, my twin pistols, Liz and Patti, so I am attending classes to better hone my skills as a meister and a reaper."

"Oh. I see." She nodded. "So will I see you around the school from time to time?"

"Yes. So if you have any more questions after you go back to your dorm, don't hesitate to come to me."

"Um…what time is it?" She looked around, confusedly. This room had no clock.

"It's sometime around midnight, I assume. You should probably sleep. I'll take you to your first class tomorrow, so don't worry, miss Kelly."

She smiled. "You don't have to call me miss. Kelly is fine."

He hesitated, and scratched the back of his head nervously. "I apologize if that sounds unnatural to you. I'm simply used to speaking formally to other students. I often have to give speeches at gatherings and such, so it's kind of a habit."  
Kelly laughed and smiled at him. Something about the boy just made her grin.

Without warning, her eyes went wide. "Oh my gosh, where's Kayla?" She asked, and stood straight up, suddenly worried for her missing friend. "Have you seen her?" She stood up too quickly, though, and Kid must have been right, she had hit her head, because she realized she felt very dizzy.

"M-Miss Kelly!"

Before she knew what was doing on, her feet were no longer under her legs, they were in the air, and she was feeling very numb. Hands wrapped around her side and held her up, keeping her from falling straight to the ground.

"Miss Kelly? Are you okay? What was that? Do you feel faint?"

She looked up in shock and surprise, coming back to complete consciousness. Death was holding her again. She could feel his heart beat, pressed up against his chest like that. It was fast. Fast with worry for her.

Her eyes wide, flashes of that moment falling off the balcony came back. She went stiff with fear. She remembered when he had caught her, and red streaked her cheeks once more. Why did this keep happening?

Looking at Death's worried face, she realized…he was actually kind of cute, his golden eyes narrowed at her like that, his mouth turned down, concerned.

Death gave her a little shake. "Miss Kelly?"

"I…I'm fine. I think I must have just tripped." She said, though it was an outright lie.

He sat her down on the bed. "You should rest. You shouldn't have gotten up so suddenly like that. Don't worry, your friend is fine, safe back at the DWMA." He put his hands on her shoulders. "But are you alright? You look like you're running a fever."

"No." She smiled awkwardly, trying to hide the obvious blush on her face. "No, really, I'm perfectly alright." She didn't know what was wrong with her, but she liked the feel of Kid's arms around her. It made her feel safe. This was the second time in one night he had saved her from falling, and she thought, silently, as he looked her up and down with worry, that she would like to pay him back.


	3. Section 3: The Shinigami's Gift

This story takes place a little while after the first two sections. It's kind of after Death and Kelly have both been going to the DWMA for a while, and Kelly, though she'd never say anything, has a small crush on Death, and Death on Kelly. They've become good friends, but maybe they'll be something more than that~ ;)

The witch's curse may just be stronger than Death thought...

((This is the last section in this story! Hope you enjoy~))

**Section****3**

**The Shinigami's Gift**

Death was fast asleep one Sunday morning. Even though he insisted on getting up at 8 every morning, Patti always turned his alarm clock off on weekends because she thought he worked too hard and needed his sleep. So it was almost 9 when a knock on the door woke the sleeping reaper.

He'd been snoring softly, his pillow pulled over his head, but the sound of the knock sent him bolting upright in surprise. He gasped and looked around. Slowly waking up, he realized he was alone in his room still. He looked at his alarm clock ad his eyes narrowed in irritation. "Patti…" It was 8:51.

He almost thought he'd just woken up by chance, or that whatever noise had woken him wasn't coming back, but when he heard the knock again, he froze.

"Liz? Patti? Isn't anyone going to get that?" He asked, quickly getting dressed and stepping out of his room. Finding no one in the hall, he quickly made his way to the front door and opened it at the sound of a third knock. "Hello?" He hesitated when he saw who it was. "K-Kelly?"

The blonde girl stood outside his door, a small red envelope in hand, looking up shyly at Death. Her face was slightly red, and she kicked her foot against the ground nervously. "Death? Are you busy right now?" She eyed his disheveled black hair. "You look like you just woke up, maybe I should come back later…"

"No!" Death put his hand out, waving her to come back. He looked up at his hair awkwardly and tried to fix it quickly with his fingers. "Sorry, my alarm clock isn't working…otherwise I would have been up an hour ago."

She tilted her head at him. "On a Sunday?"

"Of course." He smiled. "Now you came her for a reason, didn't you? Come on in."

"No, that's okay." She said, shaking her head and smiling. "I just came to give you something."

He blinked. "Give me something? What do you mean?"  
She sighed, getting up the courage. "Well…I have this invitation…and…I mean…you don't have to come if you don't want to, but I mean, if you don't mind, and if you have the time, and if you really want to…" She looked up at him with shy but determined eyes. "I'd love it if you could come to my birthday party."

"Birthday party?" Death's eyes were wide.

"…I was inviting some of the others from our class…but I really wanted to make sure you were there…and it's totally optional, so you shouldn't feel like you have to come…but there will be food…and games…and, well, I thought you might enjoy a party."

Death stared at Kelly, his face slowly igniting in a blush. "No, I'd love to go."  
"Really?" She held out the red envelope in her hand to him. "Then would you accept this invitation?"  
He took it, and then back at her. An amused smile played on his face. "I'll be there. When is it?"

"This coming Friday."

"I don't think I'll be busy that day." He tried to get rid of the blush on his face but couldn't. So he just stood awkwardly in the doorway, looking away slightly. "So I'll definitely come."

Kelly beamed. "I can't wait!" She looked behind her. "I should go…but that's great! I'm so glad you could come, Kid."

He stepped back into his house before saying goodbye, closing the door behind him and opening the envelope as soon as it was shut. When he opened the letter, a smile went over his face to see the golden lining on the edges of the card and in small black print in the center: Dear Death, I'd be so glad if you could come to my birthday celebration. Thanks, Kelly~

He rubbed away the blush on his face and walked down the hall. "Yep. I'll definitely come."

A few days later, Death was in the middle of a lecture on dissection when Spirit came into the class looking for Kid. Professor Stein wasn't happy about it, he let Spirit pull him out of class and take him to the Death room, saying that Lord Death wanted to talk to him about something. "What does my father wish to speak to me of?" Death asked, sticking his hands into his pockets and looking at Spirit with narrowed eyes.

The man shrugged. "I don't know. He never tells me this stuff."

Spirit left Kid at the door to the Death room and then nodded down the hall. "Well, I have stuff to do. Have fun."

Death cocked an eyebrow at Spirit and then sighed. He turned to the door and opened it, stepping in slowly and looking around. "Father? You wanted to talk to me?"

Lord Death peeked out from around the corner of the hall leading into the main room and blinked at Death. "Oh! Kid! You came to see me! How sweet of you!"

Death sighed. "You asked me to come, Father."

"Details, details…"

He walked down the hall, looking at Lord Death with a serious expression on his face. "What did you call me here for?"

"Oh, nothing too important. I just wanted to tell you about your next mission."  
"Mission? You found one for me?" He was suddenly interested.

"Yes. Now this is a high class mission, Kid, so don't get too upset if you need a little help…"

"I'll be fine, Father. I'm sure."

"I have intelligence that there's a meeting of witches gathering at a certain old church a ways from here soon. I want you to investigate and see if this is true, and if you can, kill the witches involved."

"When is the meeting?"

"It's supposed to be taking place this Friday."

Kid's eyes went wide. "F-Friday?"

Lord Death hesitated. "Is that a problem?"

Kid looked at the ground. "…are you sure it'll be on Friday, Father?"

He laughed. "Of course I'm sure. Why?"

"Oh…nothing…" Death looked down, hands in fists. He couldn't defy his father. If he was needed for a mission, then that was what he was going to do. But…what was he going to do about Kelly? He'd promised her he'd be at her party. Maybe if he worked really hard, he could make it before it ended. But…even so, how was he going to explain that to Kelly? Would she understand? He'd told her he wouldn't be busy. Now he felt like that was a lie. Of course, it hadn't been on purpose, but he worried that she'd feel left out, or betrayed. He hadn't even gotten her present yet…

"Kid? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'll be there for the mission. Thank you, Father." With that, Death left, his hands still in fists, his eyes looking downward. This was a mess.

But it didn't matter how much Death thought about it because on the Friday of Kelly's birthday, Death had no time to tell her because he got an emergency call and had to leave on his mission at first light. He was riding out of Death city on his skateboard as the sun was coming up, cursing himself out for messing things up like this.

Kelly was going to expect him at her house for the party and he wasn't going to be there…and she'd wait, and he still wouldn't come. She'd think he'd lied and ditched her. It would be all his fault. No one to blame…what a Shinigami he was. How pathetic.

Although when he arrived at the location he'd been sent to, he went through the motions of the mission, all he could really think about was Kelly, and how he would fix this horrible mess he had made.

His father had been right, though. There was a huge gathering of witches, and they were definitely planning something bad. A soul hunt. Definitely something Father would want to put an end to. The only problem was there were 9 of them. Death had never fought that many witches at one time. It would put his powers to the test, Shinigami or not.

He wanted to get this mission over with. For once, his heart just wasn't in it. So he ignored Liz when tried to warn him. "Kid, are you sure we should be doing this?" She said, as they surveyed the meeting. "We've never fought that many before. Are you sure we shouldn't be calling in backup?"

"No." He snapped. "That would just take more time. We'd be here all day and all night."

"But…"  
"Not now, Liz."  
He ignored her again when, in the heat of battle, she screamed out to him, "We can't do this! Kid, it's time to retreat!"

He just spun around and put a bullet through the witch's head that was about to kill him. And that was his answer to that.

It was late when the battle was finally finished raging. The sun was set, and replaced with a crescent moon and a veil of darkness.

Death stood over the final witch, watching her quietly as she died. He lifted the barrel of his guns to his mouth and blew away the smoke that drifted from their tips. His eyes were dark, overshadowed by shaggy black hair, and his face was streaked with blood. With a flick of his wrists, he threw the twin pistols over his shoulders and a stream of purple light signaled their return to human form as they landed side by side behind him.

Patti turned and blinked at Liz. "Do you think he's okay? He seems really mad about something, but I don't know what."

Liz on the other hand was a little more cautious. She narrowed her eyes and took a step towards him. "Kid? Are you alright?" Something was very wrong with her meister and she had to know what.

Suddenly, Kid swayed in his spot above the witch. Liz's eyes went wide and she moved to catch him, just as he lost his balance and slumped into her arms, unconscious. "Kid!" She screamed. "Kid, wake up!"  
She heard a groan, and he grabbed her shoulder. He slowly started to get back to his feet. "I'm fine…" He moaned, standing shakily.

"No! You're not fine! You're hurt."

"Just a few scratches…it was…a tough fight."

"It was an impossible fight! You shouldn't have pushed yourself."

"Come on. It's time to go home."

Liz and Patti could only stop and stare at him as he walked out of the church, snapping his fingers as, on cue, a green and red skateboard materialized from an electric shock of purple lightning. He hopped on, turned to them and motioned for them to return to weapon form. "Now." He whispered.

They could only obey, and wonder what had happened to Death the Kid.

It was past midnight when, in her dorm room at the DWMA, Kelly was awakened by the sound of a door knock. She'd gone to sleep late because the party had run a little longer than planned, and had just fallen asleep an hour ago. The noise startled her enough to make her flinch in her bed. Who could be calling on her this late in the night? And whatever it was, why couldn't it wait until morning?

She sat up sleepily in bed and turned on the light. "I'll be right there."  
She didn't even have time to change out of her pajamas before there was another knock. Frowning, Kelly stepped over to the door and opened it. In the moonlit hallway stood Death, his left arm drenched in blood, his head tilted forward exhaustedly.

"Death?!" Kelly's eyes widened in shock. "What happened?"

Death stumbled into the room, grabbing the wall and cursing under his breath that he couldn't seem to keep his balance. He looked down and realized that there was blood dripping on the ground from his shirt sleeve. "Sorry…I'm ruining your floor." He slurred.

She grabbed his arm, face pale with worry. "Death, what happened to you? Are you alright?" She squeaked.

"I…I'm fine…" He turned around. In the light of her room, she saw that there was blood on his face. She flinched.

"Death, the c-carpet doesn't matter." Kelly said, shaking her head. "S-Sit down." She didn't understand what was going on, but something was seriously wrong with your friend.

She watched as he collapsed onto her bed. He put his head in his hands, digging his fingers into shaggy black and white hair.

Kelly fiddled with her hands anxiously, leaning in towards Death. "K-Kid? Tell me what happened…"

"I'm sorry." He said, coughing.

Her eyes went wide. She ran to get him a tissue, handing it to him. "Here, w-wipe away the blood."

"I'm sorry, Kelly."

"Sorry? W-What are you sorry for?" She asked, trembling slightly.

"I lied to you. I know you were looking forward to having me at your party and I wasn't able to come…"

Kelly dropped the box of tissues she was holding. She stared in utter shock as Death just sat there, his hair hanging in his face, his hand curling around the tissue she had given him. "What are you talking about? I don't care about that! Death, you're hurt!" Her eyes widened. She realized her hands were shaking horribly. "T-That's what I care about…"

She knelt down, seeing that he was going to do nothing to wipe away the blood that was marring his otherwise pale white face…more pale than usual, she had noticed. Her hands were still shaking as she started to clean his face with a clean tissue.

He looked up at her. His eyes were glazed, but he was alert, listening to what she had just said. "You mean you're not mad at me?" His voice was cold…weak.

She blushed and looked down. "Of course I'm not mad at you. It…i-it looks like you were busy."

He bit his lip and looked away. "I'm fine, Kelly. You don't need to worry about me."

"What happened!" She grabbed his leg, and then flinched and pulled back when he winced loudly. "I'm sorry, did that…"

"Father sent me on a mission."

"It's okay, Death. I understand you were busy. B-But…what matters to me is that you're okay."

He swiveled his head and stared at her. For just the briefest moment, though his face was paled by blood loss, a small blush crossed his cheeks. Then he looked down again. He shook his head. "I'm not as strong as I thought I was."

"You c-couldn't fight them?"

"I won. But at what cost?" He looked at his bloody hands. "I'll never surpass my father."

She went stiff. "D-Don't say that!"

"But it's true. I can't let myself live in a fantasy world. The simple fact of the matter is that unless I train a lot harder than I do now, I'll never be strong enough to take Father's place as the Grim Reaper."

"B-But…" She sat on the bed beside him, looking at his shaking body with concern and sadness. "But if you keep pushing yourself like this…if you get yourself hurt, or worse, killed, you definitely won't be the Grim Reaper. Death, you s-should take care of yourself…I mean…" Small tears came to her eyes. She looked at the way he hunched over the edge of her bed, red staining the black of his suit, red showing in the white lines in his black hair. She saw the way he shook, the way he struggled to keep from closing his eyes. Tiny sobs escaped her mouth.

Death's eyes widened. "Kelly…a-are you crying?"

He gasped as her arms went around his shoulders. "I mean, I'd worry i-if I thought you were going on dangerous missions like this all the t-time…"

"I didn't mean to make you cry." He said, slowly putting his arms around her waist. He winced and tried to pull back but she held him tight. "I'm…probably ruining your clothes. I should go and change."

She didn't let go.

"Kelly…I'm sorry."

"N-No. You don't have to be sorry for anything." She said, pulling back and wiping tear from her eyes.

His hands curled into fists at the sight of tears on her face.

"Death, I just w-want to know if you're okay…" She looked down. "Where were you hurt?"

"Oh…" He blushed. "They just cut me up pretty good. Just a bunch of minor scratches that I can take care of by myself…that's all…"

"Please don't go. I know I'm not the strongest person here at the academy, but…maybe I can do something to help."

"You know how to bandage wounds?" Death was slightly surprised.

Kelly went stiff, blushing wildly. "A little…yeah…" She nodded. "Let me go get my kit." With that, she dashed into the other room and came back seconds later with a small white box in her hands. "Please, sit down."

Kid sat, trying to keep still as she opened up her kit and laid everything out.

She hesitated. "Um…Death, I-I'm going to need you t-to take your jacket off if you don't mind."

He blinked. "Of course." Wincing only slightly, he managed to get it off and set it on the bed next to him.

"And…um…well…" She was blushing wildly. "…if you really don't mind, I kind of also…um…need you to take your shirt off, too."

"Eh…" His face went red.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you u-uncomfortable!" She hid her face.

"N-No…really. I understand."

From behind her hands, she could hear the rustle of clothing. "I'm sorry!" Kelly said, shaking her head.

"Um, K-Kelly?" When she opened her eyes again, his shirt lay, perfectly folded, above his jacket. Death sat there, shirtless and blushing a scarlet red. "Y-You can start now." He said.

She blinked and shook her head. "Death…you're covered in gashes. No wonder you were bleeding so much…"

"It…it wasn't all that bad. It just looks worse than it is." He sounded horribly uncomfortable, doing everything in his effort not to shrink back or pull his shirt back on, looking down and unable to make eye contact with Kelly. "I didn't want to make you see this, though."

He felt a hand on his shoulder. A warm cloth ran down his chest, wiping away blood and running over cuts. His eyes snapped open and the blush returned. "K-K-Kelly?"

"I'm sorry, does this hurt?"  
"No!" He shook his head. "It…feels kind of good."

He smiled at her weakly. She smiled back, turning away quickly and trying not to focus to much on his chest. Death was actually very muscular. All that training did have an effect on him.

By the time she was done cleaning all the blood off of him and bandaging up all of his wounds, Death was exhausted. The effects of the blood loss were starting to have their effect, and even though he wasn't bleeding anymore, he was weak and it was late. It would be light before long, in fact.

She put an arm around her shoulder and helped him into a standing position. A half-conscious Death blinked and glanced over at her. "W-What…are you doing…?" He slurred, only partially aware of what was going on.

"Helping you into bed." She whispered.

He tried to protest, murmuring something about having business to do and not being able to sleep, but his protests soon slipped into inaudible drabble. She set him down in her bed, lifting the covers over him. Death slumped onto the mattress, breathing hard, sweat dripping down his face. He looked up at her through glazed eyes. "S…Sorry I made…you…worry…"

"Don't be sorry, Death." She said, smiling tiredly. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"And…and I'm sorry I missed your birthday…"

"I don't care about t-that…"  
His eyes widened slightly. "I forgot."

"Forgot what?"

"I have…have something for…you…"  
"Huh?" She stared.

"I have something…in my…jacket pocket…"

She ran over to find a small black box in Death's pocket. She handed it to him. He just put it weakly back into her hands. "Open it…" He said.

"O-Okay…" She opened the box, and inside the black wrapping paper, she pulled out two small metal pieces… "What are they?"

He took one in his hand and let it shine in the small rays of sunlight that were now shining through the window. "Hair pins." He said. In the light, she could see their shape. They matched the skull pin Death wore on the front of his shirt. "One…for the left…side of your head…and one for…the right…" He smiled, closing his eyes again.

She smiled, blushing lightly. "Thank you, Death. They're beautiful."

"P-Put…them on…"

She fastened them into her hair, adjusting them so that they were perfectly even…perfectly symmetrical.

He turned and opened his eyes tiredly. "I…I think you look…amazing…" He had a slightly silly look on his face. She wondered if he wasn't a little delusional after all that blood loss.

She smiled shyly. "Really?"

Kelly was startled when Death started to push himself back into a sitting position. "Death, you shouldn't be up right now, really, go ahead and rest."

But he just shook his head. He lifted a hand and rested it on her shoulder, then pulled her slightly into her, wrapping both his arms around her neck and then pressing his lips up to hers. Her eyes were wide as she realized he was kissing her. Then they closed. She…was enjoying it.

In Death's head, he thought, _why do I feel so strongly about this girl? What's wrong with me? I've never felt this way about someone before…maybe what the witch said wasn't a lie. Maybe I really do have a spell on me…maybe Kelly is who I'm meant to be with, she's my kindred spirit…well…if so, maybe it isn't such a bad thing after all. Maybe I like this curse._

He leant into her, using her as support. His arms went around her shoulders, his fingers curling around her neck. When he was done, or rather, when his legs were too weak to support him any longer, they started to wobble and he finally slumped back onto the bed, falling onto the pillow.

"D-Death…"

His face was buried in the pillow.

"D-Death, I…" She stood in a state of shock.

He flopped onto his back, resting his hands on his stomach. The silly smile was back. His eyes were glazed over. "I…have been waiting to do that…for a while now…"

_He's probably just delusional_, she thought. _That's why he…_

"I should go to bed, too." Kelly didn't know how to handle what had just happened. She'd just been kissed by Death, who she'd had a crush on almost since she got to the academy. Sure, he probably wouldn't remember this the next morning. But…she would…

She ran to close the blinds, and turned off the lamp, shrouding the room once again in darkness. Then she got onto the other side of the bed and crawled under the covers. At first she was all the way on the opposite side of the bed from Death, but she couldn't sleep, not knowing what had just happened…

His breathing wasn't steady, either. He was breathing hard, and small gasps escaped his mouth every few seconds.

"Death? A-Are you hurting?" She stuttered.

"N-No."

"Where does it hurt?"

"Nowhere, I'm f-fine." He gasped.

Her eyes snapped wide open. "Your stomach…" She scooted over to him in bed. "Let me see." Ignoring her shyness, her worry for Death took over. She ran a hand over his side. He gasped louder.

"My…my stomach just…hurts…and I don't know…why…" He said between pants.

"It's okay. You're going to be fine." She put her hand over his stomach and started rubbing her hand in circles over the area that was in pain. The warmth of her skin on his felt good. Death let his head hit the pillow. He couldn't believe how good this felt…every time she touched him.

He took a quick breath in.

She flinched. "Am I hurting you again?"

"What?" He shook his head. "No! No, I enjoy it…actually…"

She blushed.

"Thank you, Kelly…please don't stop."

"O-Okay…" She curled into him, resting her head in the space between his arm and his side, feeling his head rest on hers and his black hair mix with her blonde curls. She continued to run her hand in circles over his stomach, and she smiled softly as his breathing slowly steadied. After a long time, when he was finally asleep—and he had been very exhausted—she finally stopped, and instead wrapped her arm around his waist. He was so warm. It would be so easy to fall asleep at his side like this.

She closed her eyes. Kelly fell asleep with her arms around Death and his head beside hers. This would be a birthday she was sure she'd never forget.

-FIN-


End file.
